BBrown: Da'Shawn Hand Close-To-Empty Update

I'm definitely not trying to get anyone's hopes up but I talked with Da'Shawn's position coach today and I am more than optimistic that young Mr. Hand will be Blue on November 14.

As one would expect his coach didn't give me anything concrete or definite, but just the way he answered me and the things he said gave me a vibe. Couple that with how Da'Shawn spoke to me and everyone else about Michigan.....it's gonna happen.

Da'Shawn will visit Alabama this weekend for the Tennessee game after having to reschedule his intial plan for the LSU game due to his SAT test a few weeks ago. I told his coach that a lot of the pundits are now giving Michigan a healthy lead over the Crimson Tide and Florida and he just laughed and said "Is that right? Less than a month now."

Coach Harris talked to me about how much of a beast Jabrill Peppers is. He also asked me if I thought McDowell will sign with Michigan, to which I replied, "I think so." He and Da'Shawn met Malik in Chicago (5-star challenge I believe) and said they really enjoyed meeting him.

I decided to straight up ask him for a "nugget" about Da'Shawn that I could give to the Michigan faithful and he responded how you think he'd respond.

So Coach...what ya got?!?!

(Laughs) Not much to be honest. All I can say is that the kid did all of his research and is basically trying to see where he fits best and where he wants to live now. He enjoyed Ann Arbor. He just wants to compare it to the other two places before his decision.

Ok here are my thoughts...

1. Coach Harris is playing everything close to the vest as you'd expect.

2. Da'Shawn is keeping very quiet right now also like you'd expect as his decision nears.

3. Da'Shawn has always exploded with excitement about Michigan more than the other schools. Especially about the academic angles, including the legendary professor.

4. The fact that his coach was interested in McDowell's decision and the potential of being a teammate of Peppers has to be a good thing.

5. The way Coach Harris said, "The kid did all of his research..." before he's actually visited Bama and Florida makes it sound like his mind could be made up already.

6. Back when I spoke to Da'Shawn he spoke about the professor and the academics as if he had already decided that's where he'll be for school.

7. There have been reports that Da'Shawn already talked with other commits about potential roommates and what number he could wear if he were at Michigan.

My conclusion: November 14th could/should be a great day for Michigan fans in regards to Da'Shawn Hand's commitment.